Maria Mendes Presents New CD in Amsterdam's North Sea Jazz Club

After successful performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival and her recent Portuguese tour, Jazz vocalist Maria Mendes will present her debut CD “Along the road” (Dot Time Records – DT9013) at the North Sea Jazz Club in Amsterdam on the 13th of October  2012.

Maria Mendes is one the current rising stars on the jazz scene. In 2011 Maria signed a worldwide recording contract with the New York based jazz label, Dot Time Records. With the release of her debut CD “Along the road” Maria has drawn the attention of both the jazz media and public. The recent Portuguese concerts and the CD presentation in the North Sea Jazz Club mark the start of a concert tour in 2012 – 13 that will see Maria performing throughout Europe, the USA and South America.

Maria Mendes is an undeniable talented jazz singer with incredible inventive and unique vocal abilities. Maria is known for her crystal clear voice, creative and exciting phrasing and vocal virtuosity. All these qualities make her singing standing out elegance, charm and vivid charisma. Her culturally rich background has influenced her style with elements of the Bossa Nova’s gentle groove, the melancholy of the Portuguese Fado and the American jazz swing of the early 50s. .

Carrying these natural abilities with her on stage, Maria’s performances have provided her with international acclaim, significant awards and rave reviews while at the same time building her a loyal international following. During the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2010 Quincy Jones stated “I see a promising and shining future for this young talented singer”. With the release of “Along the road” we can see that Mr. Jones prediction was right on the money.

Concert Details:
Title: Maria Mendes – CD Presentation
Date: Saturday 13th October 2012
Time: 9:00 pm
Venue: North Sea Jazz Club | Pazzanistraat 1 | 1014 DB AMSTERDAM
Tickets: Available from €14.00 | available online at www.northseajazzclub.com
Web: www.northseajazzclub.com

_______________________________________________________________

Back on board

Dear all I am pleased to announce that after a long Illness that I am now able to resume my writing activities for the Dutch Jazz Times. While the last 12 months have been very taxing I received comfort in the numerous Get well soon mails received. Thanks to all those who took the time to contact me.

Well enough of that, from today I am fully back on board with renewed energy and look forward to posting interesting news from the Dutch and European jazz scene. When I started this blog I had completely underestimated the amount of work it takes to keep a blog up to date. From what I hear this is a common mistake.

This blog is very dear to my heart and my goal is help European musicians get their news out to all those jazz fans throughout the world. To achieve this I have realized that I need assistance. If you love jazz, have a good command of English and would like to contribute to the Dutch Jazz Times please contact me on dutchjazztimes@gmail.com

To kick off the resurrection of the Dutch Jazz Times I have just posted a review of a great CD released recently on Unit Records from Swiss trio VEIN featuring Dave Liebman. I am a great fan of piano trios however I was completely unaware of this group until their CD arrived in my letterbox for review. What a surprise, great CD and incredible trio. From the press release it would appear that VEIN together with Dave Liebman will be once again touring in March 2013. Here is a tip for Dutch clubs, book is band! If this live CD is any indication, it will be a great concert.

Johan van Deeg

The St. Regis Doha set to be Home of Jazz in the Middle East

The St. Regis Doha today confirmed that it will be the first St. Regis hotel in the world – and the first venue outside of America  to host a Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) jazz club, as part of the unprecedented global partnership between St. Regis Hotels & Resorts and JALC.

Throughout the Jazz Age, The St. Regis Rooftop Ballroom in the landmark hotel in New York City played host to some of the finest jazz musicians in history. The rich musical legacy is now coming to Qatar thanks to the new agreement, which will bring a range of cultural and educational opportunities to the people of Qatar.

Jazz at Lincoln Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and growing audiences for jazz. Through this partnership, jazz programming will be developed at The St. Regis Doha, led by Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, providing both the novice and aficionado the opportunity to experience world-class jazz.

Tareq Derbas, General Manager, The St. Regis Doha, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jazz at Lincoln Center to its new home at The St. Regis Doha. We have promised our customers unmatched luxury and a rich range of entertainment options, and we believe that our signature venue, Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha, will delight and inspire our guests. I would like to thank our owner and the team responsible for beginning this exciting new era for jazz in the Middle East.”

The opening of Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha and The St. Regis Doha further solidifies Qatar as an emerging centre of culture, commerce and leisure in the Middle East. The hotel, scheduled to open early next year, promises to bring the legendary St. Regis luxury to this thriving commercial and business region.

Lisa Schiff, Chairman of JALC  stated “We are thrilled with the opportunity to work with St. Regis to reach new audiences and to support our mission of growing and inspiring audiences for jazz around the globe,”. The agreement is part of a wider global partnership, which will see the two New York icons together to jointly-conceptualise and create a series of jazz clubs around the world in multiple new St. Regis hotels.

For more information regarding Jazz at the Lincon Center check out their website

Mingus On Mingus

A documentary about a grandson’s journey through the lore and legends of jazz history to find his grandfather, Charles Mingus.

Last week I was approached by production company Orangethenblue with the question “would I be prepared to assist in the promotion of the crowd funding project for a documentary on the life of Charles Mingus?”. Well how could I say no. As a bass player Charles Mingus was and still is a great inspiration to me and I believe that this film will be a great addition to his legacy. In addition the film will be directed by Kevin Ellington Mingus (grandson of Charles Mingus) bringing a true personal perspective to the production.

The film will include interviews with legendary musicians including among others Sonny Rollins, Joni Mitchell, Ornette Coleman and Charles McPherson. The documentary will be filmed in locations ranging from India to New York to the Mingus Mill located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the only remaining landmark of the Mingus family settlement.    

To finance the production Orangethenblue have launched a crowd funding project on Kickstarter.com. Crowd funding is a great tool that fits beautifully into the New Music Economy and allows the general public to assist in the financing of cultural projects. By pledging an amount in return for a package of incentives the public can become not only consumers but stakeholders in a project. The Mingus on Mingus project offers a great range of Incentives ranging from copies of the DVD to invitations to the premiere to name just a few.  Pledges are only billed when the goal is met and the campaign has ended.

 
The Mingus project requires $45,000- to allow Orangethenblue to continue into the next stage of filming, planned for winter 2011 and spring 2012. Funds received will go into the production of the documentary for conducting interviews, travel and accommodation, equipment rental, camera operator as well as archival research fees and editing costs for a promotional trailer. If we exceed our goal, then proceeds will go toward the post-production budget including editing, mastering and licensing.

Please get behind this project and make your pledge today. 

To set the example the Dutch Jazz Times has just pledged $50 and the process is dead easy. Just go to the following link Mingus on Mingus and follow the steps outlined on the Kickstarter site.

Andrew  Read

Reggie Washington trio embark on a European tour 2011

REGGIE WASHINGTON TRIO
Reggie Washington, bass | Jef Lee Johnson, guitar | Gene Lake, drums

September 15 to 22 will see Bassist Reggie Washington embark on a European tour with his Trio featuring  Jef Lee Johnson on Guitar and Gene Lake on drums. Reggie Washington’s previous track record should speak for itself with over more than twenty years recording, collaborating and/or touring with Cassandra Wilson, Don Byron, Oliver Lake, Me’shell N'degeOcello, Ronnie Cuber, Lester Bowie, World Saxophone Quartet, Mike Mainieri & Steps Ahead, Will Smith, M-Base Collective, Ute Lemper, Jean-Paul Bourelly, Uri Caine and Cheick-Tidiane Seck plus performing at almost every jazz and music festival worldwide with artists such as Roy Hargrove, Branford Marsalis, Steve Coleman and Chico Hamilton just to name a few. Reggie was also a participant in Bass Day '97 in NYC with Oteil Burbridge, John Patitucci, Billy Sheehan & Tony Levin.

Get to know Anton Goudsmit in Jazzheld Vertelt

The concept is simple, you take your favorite jazz hero put him or her in a room filled with their fans, add a bathtub, a turntable, video’s, photo’s, Twitter, an open mic, MC John Buijsman and there you have it “Jazzheld Vertelt”. With this new concept Stichting Jazz hopes to give the public more insight into what motivates their favorite jazz hero and add an extra layer to their jazz experience.

Anton Goudsmit, winner of the 2010 Boy Edgar prize is the first cab of the rank. On the 25^th and the 27^th of March in the Sugar Factory in Amsterdam, Goudsmit will take the public on a journey through his sources of inspiration, his high and low points and as we can expect from Goudsmit a healthy dose of craziness and humor. An evening with Jazzheld Vertelt gives the public the opportunity to get to know their favorite Dutch jazz artist from inside out, for example, did you know that Anton spends at least one hour per day in the Bath and uses this time to do his administration! Anton will also present some inspirational home video including street musicians playing instruments using their feet due to the fact that their arms are missing or Ugandan musicians using some strange techniques and creating some amazing things.  

The public will also have the opportunity to participate. You can send comments and requests via Twitter or engage in the conversation via the Open mic. You can also win prizes with the Jazz Quiz. All in all this will be a great night. I love this idea and as a big fan of Anton Goudsmit will be sitting in the front row. I hope that this is a great success for Stichting Jazz and look forward to the time that Jazzheld Vertelt is a permanent feature on the Dutch jazz scene.

Dates
Friday 25 March, show starts at, 20:30
Sunday 27 March, show starts at 13:30

Venue
Sugar Factory, Lijnbaansgracht 238 Amsterdam
Entree 12,50 euro
Tickets: www.sugarfactory.nl

www.jazzheldvertelt.nl
www.facebook.com/jazzheldvertelt
www.twitter.com/jazzheldvertelt

Enrico Pieranunzi & Rosario Giuliani - 12 March in the Bimhuis

Saturday 12 March will see a touch of  “La Dolce Vita” in the Bimhuis with two of Italy’s best known jazz musicians, Enrico Pieranunzi and Rosario Giuliani.

Enrico Pieranunzi has long been one of the best-known and appreciated personalities on the world jazz scene. As Pianist, composer, arranger, he has recorded more than seventy cd’s under his own name. Pieranunzi, best known for his work with his American trio, including bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron has performed at most major jazz festivals from Montreal to Copenhagen,and from Berlin and Madrid to Jerusalem. His latest CD on the label Camjazz is dedicated to the music of Domenico Scarlatti, combining jazz improvisation with classical music.

Coming Saturday in the Bimhuis Pieranunzi teams up with alto saxophonist Rosario Giuliani. Giuliani is one of Europe’s most respected musicians and widely considered among Italy’s best, Giuliani has won numerous European awards and honors and performed with top names like Kenny Wheeler, Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, Cedar Walton and countless others.

Also on the program is the nine piece band from the German bass saxophonist Steffen Schorn. Schorn will present a program based around music from the Brazilian pianist and composer Hermeto Pascoal. The entire concert can be heard live on will be Radio 6 and via video-webcast at vprojazzlive.radio6.nl.  

Sat 12 Mar 2011 20:30

ROSARIO GIULIANI & ENRICO PIERANUNZI

STEFFEN SCHORN UNIVERSE OF POSSIBILITIES

THE BIMHUIS

Piet Heinkade 3
1019 BR Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tickets are available via: T 020-788 2188 | kassa@bimhuis.nl

Dual City Concert Band with Don Braden

Friday 4 March 2011

Jazz Cafe De Tor

Walstraat 21 – Enschede – The Netherlands

www.jazzpodiumdetor.nl

Friday the 4^th of March 2011 will see the continuation of the 20^th anniversary celebrations of the Dual City Concert Band in Enschede’s jazz cafe “De Tor”. The Dual City Concert Band was founded in 1991 by saxophonist Gerlo Hesselink and bassist/arranger Johan Plomp. Over the years the Dual City Concert Band has become one of the most respected big bands in the Netherlands. Currently led by trumpeter Rini Swinkels the Dual City Concert Band has performed at many major venues and festivals and is the house big band at one of the Netherlands best known jazz venues “De Tor” in Enschede. The Band has performed with many guest soloists including among others Philip Catherine and Randy Brecker.

The concert this coming Friday features New York saxophonist Don Braden as guest soloist. Don Braden has toured the world leading his own ensembles, as a guest soloist, and as a sideman with greats such as Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, and many others.  Braden is also well known as a composer having composed music for settings form duo to full symphonic orchestra. His compositions can be heard on many CD recordings, film and television. In addition Braden has worked for several years as composer for Bill Cosby.

For more information go to www.jazzpodiumdetor.nl

Tomorrow Ben van Gelder guest soloist with DIG d'DIZ

Every last Thursday of the month DIG d'DIZ invites a special guest to perform with them in the charming Parooltheater  ( close to the Dam). Tomorrow night’s concert features Dutch Ben van Gelder as soloist.

A native of the Netherlands, Ben studied at the Amsterdam Conservatorium with Ferdinand Povel and Dick Oatts. At this time Ben started performing regularly throughout the country with some of the Netherlands most prominent musicians at venues including the Bimhuis and the North Sea Jazz Festival.

In 2006 Ben moved to New York to further his music and academic studies at the New School University. He received lessons from revered musicians such as Lee Konitz and George Garzone. During his three year stay in the city Ben has played or recorded with many prominent contemporary jazz musicians including David Binney, Ambrose Akinmusire, Nasheeet Waits, Aaron Parks, John Escreet, Ben Street, Thomas Morgan and

Rodney Green. Ben returned to the Netherlands to further his studies in 2010 however travels regularly to New York to perform and record.

DIG d'DIZ is  Jan Menu - baritone sax  | Jan Voogd - double Bass | Maarten van der Grinten  guitar.

Location - Het Parooltheater Sint Pieterpoortsteeg 33 Amsterdam

Entrance fee 7,50, reservations: 020-5584300 or theater@parool.nl

Concert starts at 21:00

For more information
www.benvangelder.com
www.myspace.com/digdiz

Dutch Jazz-day moves to Rotterdam

The fifth edition of the Dutch Jazz-day will take place in Rotterdam on Friday the 24^th of June 2011 in the LantarenVenster. Since the North Sea Jazz Festival moved from The Hague to Rotterdam in 2006 the city has become one of the major jazz centers in the Netherlands. The Jazz-day will mark the start of two weeks of jazz pleasure in Rotterdam including the festivals North Sea Round Town and the world famous North Sea Jazz festival.

Co-promoter of the Jazz-day, Alexander Beets stated recently that one of the goals of the Jazz-day is to promote the Dutch jazz scene both nationally and internationally and he believes that the move to Rotterdam will add value for all those participating.

Ruben Hein club tour

The first Dutch club tour by Ruben Hein kicks off on the 25^th of February in Cultuurpodium Groene Engel in Oss. Hein’s first CD after signing with the prestigious Blue Note Label titled “Loose Fit “ has been well received by the press and is receiving strong airplay on the commercial radio. Hein will also perform at the Java Jazz Festival.

Regarding his debut CD Hein states on his website “I want to develop further as a songwriter and I know I have the potential to do so. But I am already very proud of Loose Fit. I have tried to reach for the essence of a song in the way that Paul Simon and Ray Charles did. And I love a spatial quality in my music, of the kind you can hear on the album, Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.’ And Hein adds: ‘I have waited for this a long time. I am 28 now and fully ready for what lies ahead.” If the current buzz is anything to go by, we can expect to be hearing a lot more from this artist.

For complete tour dates see www.runenhein.com

Young VIPs tour 2011

On the 17th of February, the 2011 edition of the Young VIPs  tour will kick off in  the Bimhuis. The Young VIPs  tour has been organized yearly since 1997 and presents a series of concerts in jazz venues throughout the Netherlands. The concerts consist of a double bill featuring two talented Dutch bands providing them with the opportunity to present new original jazz repertoire to a broad cross section of jazz listeners. 

Each year a panel consisting of promoters from the Association of jazz and improvised music venues (Vereniging van Jazz- en Improvisatiemuziek Podia -VIP) select two bands for the tour. The two bands selected for the 2011 tour are the Clemens van der Feen Band and the Castel/Van Damme Quartet.

For the complete tour dates click here 

Metropole Orkest awarded Grammy

The famous Dutch jazz Orchestra the “Metropole Orkest”  was awarded a Grammy award in the category ‘Best Instrumental Arrangement’ for the track “Carlos” from the CD 54. The orchestra was conducted by Vince Mendoza and featured guitarist John Scofield as soloist. The Metropole Orkest was also nominated in two other categories Best Large Jazz Orchestra (once again for the CD 54) and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist (for the track “Based On A Thousand True Stories” released on a CD from the Norwegian singer Silje Nergaard).

Once again the success of the Metropole Orkest shows the shortsightedness of the current Dutch Governments cultural policies. The current government was planning to withdraw funding for the organization “MCO” that incorporates the Metropole Orkest, The Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, The Radio Chamber Orchestra and the Radio Choir.  Recently the Dutch minister for the arts, science and education Marja van Bijsterveldt stated that the government will reconsider its plans to scrap the MCO .  The minister stated a number of reasons for this about face including the continuing demand for live music from the Dutch radio ensembles and the large number of protests (both national en international) that have been received.

We at the Dutch Jazz Times congratulate all at the Metropole Orkest, Conductor Vince Mendoza and guitarist John Scofield on their Grammy success.

Dutch Jazz India Expedition

A delegation of 11 Dutch jazz artists is currently visiting India to promote Dutch jazz and establish links with Indian musicians, promoters, clubs, labels and festivals. The delegation under the name “Dutch Jazz India Expedition” will be visiting a number of major cities including Mumbai, Pune and Goa. Activities will include Concerts, workshops and networking events.

Included in the delegation  are the two organizers Saskia Laroo and Alexander Beets as well as Anne Chris, DJ Maestro, Izaline Calister, Jaime Rodriguez , Mike Del Ferro, Phaedra Kwant, Robbie Taylor, Roy Dackus, Theo de Jong.

The “Dutch Jazz India Expedition” is a follow up to the visit from an Indian delegation during last year’s “Jazzdag” and is organized in collaboration with Buma Cultuur and Stichting JazzNL and supported by NL EVD Internationaal.

More information can be found at www.dutchjazzagency.nl

Ferdinand Povel wins 2011 VPRO/Boy Edgar Prize

The 2011 Boy Edgar prize has been awarded to saxophonist Ferdinand Povel.  VPRO/The Boy Edgar prize is widely regarded as Holland’s most prestigious award in the field of jazz and improvised music. It is awarded annually to a musician or composer who has made significant contributions to the Dutch jazz scene.

The prize will be presented on 16 May 2011 at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam and broadcast live on Radio 6 and on the internet as a videocast vprojazzlive.radio6.nl

The VPRO/The Boy Edgar prize was first awarded in 1963 and is named after physician and editor in chief of Excerpta Medica, an international medical journal, he was known as G.W.F. Edgar; in the world of jazz he was better known as Boy Edgar. He was an active trumpet player for many years, but became famous as the musical director and conductor of Boy’s Big Band (1961 - 1971) and later Boy’s Sound. For years he performed with Boy’s Big Band during monthly radio broadcasts and in tv series. Memorable also were many of the band’s concerts, featuring the likes of Abbey Lincoln, Eric Dolphy, Max Roach, Ben Webster and Nina Simone.

Among the laureates during these past four decades are many renowned Dutch jazz musicians, such as Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink, Willem Breuker, Guus Janssen, Ernst Reijseger, Ab Baars and Franky Douglas. Recent recipients of the VPRO/Boy Edgar Prijs are Luc Houtkamp (2004), Benjamin Herman (2006), Bert van den Brink (2007), Pierre Courbois (2008), Ernst Glerum (2009) and Anton Goudsmit (2010)